


Come Over

by Bbaegi



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-22
Updated: 2018-10-22
Packaged: 2019-08-05 23:02:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16376702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bbaegi/pseuds/Bbaegi
Summary: "I was just told that you were in love with me, today. Isn’t that crazy?""Uh," was all Sehun finally said, shaking his head faintly. "Iamin love with you."





	Come Over

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: SFY056 (DEAN - Come Over (넘어와) ft. Ye Rin Baek)
> 
> Author's note:  
> Thank you to mod burger and mod pizza this is the best fest ever and you're both so cute I want to eat you up I love you <3  
> long live seho, sfy, and chicken nuggets

Junmyeon wasn’t stupid. He wasn’t. He used to have good grades. He had a really nice job. His mom always cooed at him while telling him that he had gotten his brains from her. Junmyeon wasn’t stupid.

 

He didn’t understand why Baekhyun and Kyungsoo, sitting across from him, were looking at him like they were utterly taken aback by his lack of intelligence.

 

"Was I supposed to laugh or something?" he questioned with a snort, leaning forward to lace his hands around his cardboard cup. He had spelled his name to the barista but he still had written _Junnyon_ on the cup. Junmyeon could just give baristas _Jun_ as his name, it would be easier. But his name was _Junmyeon._ "It was a really bad joke."

 

Baekhyun silently looked towards Kyungsoo who did the same and for an additional moment that made Junmyeon feel stupid, they just stared at each other. Then, Kyungsoo blinked and looked back at Junmyeon.

 

"It wasn’t a joke," he said, words stretched out with hesitation, eyebrows furrowed. "Why would it be a joke?"

 

Junmyeon gave him a look. "Why wouldn’t it be a joke?" he retorted, sipping on the chocolatey flavor diluted into his coffee.

 

"Dude," Baekhyun intervened, leaning over the table and looking at him with beady, wild eyes. Junmyeon scrunched his nose. "Sehun’s in love with you."

 

Junmyeon started laughing and then pressed his lips together to avoid spitting his drink out. Kyungsoo frowned at him. Junmyeon swallowed properly and snorted at them. It was his second time hearing it and yet, the joke didn’t lose one bit of its hilarity.

 

"Right," he said, stretching the vowel out as he looked at his friends. Kyungsoo was really good at cracking jokes with astraight face. He had probably trained Baekhyun to do the same behind Junmyeon’s back.

 

"You don’t believe us?" Baekhyun asked, the offended edge in his voice flaring his nostrils a little too.

 

"I would if you said something that made sense," Junmyeon said, looking down at his phone when the screen lit up on the table.

 

 _When are you coming home? I’m all alone TT,_ the notification said. Junmyeon grabbed the device and typed a quick reply.

 

"See!" Baekhyun dramatically exclaimed, his hand flying towards Junmyeon who looked at him with a quirked eyebrow. "The proof is there!"

 

"It’s just Sehun asking when I’m going home," Junmyeon sighed, looking at Kyungsoo for perhaps a sign that he’d be of any help in wielding off Baekhyun’s very bad and dragging joke.

 

Instead, Kyungsoo merely shook his head at him, sipping his coffee.

 

"You’re hopeless," he said, not an insult nor a chiding, but a realization in his voice.

 

Junmyeon frowned at him. "At least I won’t be left alone with Baekhyun," he huffed, standing up and pushing his coffee towards them. "Finish it. I don’t want to take it out with me while driving."

 

Baekhyun instantly jumped his hands to the cup, pulling it towards him and giving Kyungsoo a sweet smile. Junmyeon shook his head and with a tiny wave of his hand, he turned around, avoiding a bump into a middle-aged man on his way towards the door, and then exited the coffee shop.

 

In the car, his shoulders still quivered with an amused snort when he thought back to the nonsensical claims Baekhyun and Kyungsoo had plastered on him. He should perhaps teach them a few actually good jokes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As soon as he opened the door, a whiny, stretched out scream of his name welcomed him home.

 

Junmyeon laughed to himself as he closed the door behind him and toed his shoes off in the pile at the entrance.

 

"I’m here," he called out as he took his jacket off, heading towards the living room. The calls didn’t stop though, only gaining in volume and length up until the moment Junmyeon stepped into the living room and Sehun finally saw him.

 

"Why are you screaming?" Junmyeon asked, laugh making the reprimand in his voice skippy.

 

Sehun was stretched over the entire couch, ankles crossed over the armrest, elbow supporting his body as it was twisted towards the entrance of the living room, his other hand holding onto his phone and resting on his stomach.

 

"I don’t know, I thought you might get lost in the mess and not reach me," Sehun calmly replied, raising his phone and gesturing around himself with it.

 

Junmyeon followed the gesture with his gaze and then looked around himself. It was clean. There was just a jacket on the floor and two empty glasses on the table, next to the McDonald’s bags that wafted off a scent Junmyeon had encountered hundreds of times in his life without it ever losing its attractiveness. He huffed, throwing his jacket on top of the one already occupying the floor.

 

"It’s not even messy but if you’re bothered, you can get out of my house," Junmyeon retorted, elevating his tone into haughtiness as he nudged Sehun’s legs with his foot.

 

"Nah, I wouldn’t want you to feel alone," Sehun said with a perfect copy of both Junmyeon’s tone and expression as he raised his legs just enough for Junmyeon to sit on the couch. "I’m doing a good deed by being here," he nodded as he plopped his feet down on Junmyeon’s lap, knees bended a little.

 

"Thank you so much," Junmyeon deadpanned, hands resting on Sehun’s ankles and fingers pinching the sliver of skin between his jeans and his socks.

 

He instantly hissed, following it by a groan as he threateningly dug his toes into Junmyeon’s thigh. He didn’t stop until Junmyeon stabbed his toes with his fingers and asked if he had brought in the food from work. Junmyeon forgave Sehun’s words about his being _stupid, of course I brought them from work as always_ when he silently got up to get Junmyeon’s laptop from the bedroom while Junmyeon got the food out of the bags. So many chicken nuggets. Sehun had indeed done such a good deed.

 

They shared fries and napkins as they watched a few episodes of The Good Place, Sehun stealing Junmyeon’s coke after deciding that ordering Sprite for himself had been a mistake. Junmyeon let him do, giving him the stinky eye but not protesting since he wasn’t planning on drinking much anyway. Soda always made his stomach feel too full and he never had any room left for more nuggets. Moreover, Sehun liked to make fun of every single character in the show and it was too dangerous for Junmyeon to be drinking when the possibly of spitting everything out with laughter was constantly hovering over him.

 

He had to admit Sehun’s British accent sounded kind of posh _and_ overly sensual at the same time whenever he imitated Tahani’s dramatic outbursts. Or rather, every single line of hers. But it was okay. Junmyeon loved her and her cute face and her hot skin tone.

 

It was only when Eleanor questioned whether she loved Chidi or not, when they were long done eating, fingers a little greasy as they leaned back against the couch and let Netlix hypnotize them into watching episode after episode, that Junmyeon suddenly chortled. Sehun looked at him before focusing back on the screen.

 

"What? Did I not understand a joke?" he questioned, already leaning towards the laptop to drag the episode back to the beginning of the scene.

 

Junmyeon stopped him by pulling on his shirt until he fell back against the couch.

 

"Nah, I just remembered something funny," he explained at Sehun’s confused gaze. The curious twitch of an eyebrow pushed him to speak further. He parted his lips, let out an amused note, shook his head. "I was just told that you were in love with me, today. Isn’t that crazy?" Michael cackled evilly on the screen and Junmyeon smiled. "I think Baekhyun finally managed to make Kyungsoo lose his mind and turn him into some kind of slave who participates in all of his jokes."

 

Sehun’s silence pulled Junmyeon’s gaze towards him and he met his attentive stare. He wasn’t laughing. He didn’t look particularly confused either, he was just frowning a little but that was nothing unusual. Sehun always frowned out of habit, never realizing it and only stopping when Junmyeon poked on the pull on his skin and teased him about premature frowning.

 

Junmyeon laughed, stretching his arms over his head, yawning his next words. "It’s absurd, right?" He pointed at Sehun’s face. "That was my exact reaction when Baekhyun looked at me and said _dude, Sehun’s in love with you,_ " he recounted, mimicking the dramatic tone and the wide eyes.

 

He laughed at the recollection some more, the sound only dying down when he noticed that Sehun was still frowning at him. He looked confused now, truly confused. Observing Junmyeon and frowning at him and once again, making him feel stupid. What was with people making him question his intelligence today?

 

He raised his eyebrows to silently question Sehun, maybe nudge him into saying something, giving a reaction. Had this been one of his own jokes, Junmyeon would’ve pushed at his shoulder until Sehun yielded and finally laughed at him. But it wasn’t his own joke. It was too lame and absurd to be one of Junmyeon’s quality, smart puns.

 

"Uh," was all Sehun finally said, shaking his head faintly. "I _am_ in love with you."

 

Junmyeon’s lips twitched up into incoming laughter. It stayed stuck in his throat when Sehun didn’t laugh first, didn’t scrunch his nose at him the way he usually did when Junmyeon didn’t laugh at his jokes. His grin felt frozen on his face, plastered, a wide hole spread over his features. He closed his mouth. Sehun tilted his head. Still no laughter.

 

He looked serious. He had sounded serious. He was looking at Junmyeon as seriously as he had two days ago, when they’d finished the first season of The Good Place and he had told Junmyeonthat this was the best plot twist he had ever watched in his entire life.

 

Sehun _was_ serious. Was. Uh. In love. With. Uh. Junmyeon.

 

"Oh," Junmyeon whispered.

 

He blinked. Sehun blinked.

 

"Oh," Junmyeon repeated, the sound stretched a little longer now. Then, he frowned. "What?"

 

Sehun _snorted._

 

"You’re so slow, hyung," he said, words drawled out, eyes narrowed, arms crossed against his chest as if he had the upper hand here when Junmyeon _knew_ he would end up leaving his shirt here for Junmyeon to put in his laundry basket and get rid of the grease stamped into it by his fingers.

 

Junmyeon pushed at his shoulder. More grease. Served him right. Even if Sehun didn’t even budge. Damn him and his broad shoulders and his body mass that was superior to Junmyeon’s.

 

"Why are you suddenly insulting me?" he groaned, whined, something in-between.

 

"I didn’t," he defended himself, raising his eyebrows even more in an offended expression, mouth rounding when he didn’t speak. "Slow isn’t an insult. It’s an adjective. I’m just describing you."

 

"Smartass," Junmyeon huffed, this time upgrading his strength by bringing in both his hands to Sehun’s shoulders and pushing as hard as he could. "You really should get out of my house. You can’t act so smart and almighty around your host," he groaned, although it could barely be heard because he was putting all his strength into pushing Sehun who still barely even tilted to the side and laughed instead of falling off the couch like Junmyeon intended him to.

 

Soon, Sehun pushed back against him with his shoulder and then somehow managed to wrap his arms around Junmyeon and pull him against him. He felt a hand patting his head and dug a finger into Sehun’s ribs, feeling him startle a little as he let out a short screech. Junmyeon laughed, satisfied enough not to push himself away from Sehun’s hold. Jokes. They were just joking around. As usual.

 

Sehun shushed him then, patting his cheek patronizingly this time. Junmyeon slapped his hand away with another groan.

 

"I can’t hear Jason’s stupidity," Sehun defended himself, gesturing towards the screen.

 

Jason’s stupidity was worth hearing so Junmyeon comfortably settled against Sehun’s chest and decided not to think about whether this conversation had really been a joke or not. The answer was obvious anyway.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the morning, Junmyeon always had a hard time extracting himself from bed. Not because he hated mornings or because he always wanted to sleep more. Just because Sehun clung a lot in his sleep, cuddled a lot, had made Junmyeon install air-condition in the whole house so they could survive summer nights despite the cuddling.

 

But Junmyeon had to work so Junmyeon still pulled himself out of bed as carefully and quietly as possible to get to the kitchen without waking Sehun up.

 

It didn’t always work. Today was one of those days where it didn’t work and Junmyeon looked up towards the living room entrance, knife hovering over his slice of grilled bread. Sehun leaned against the doorframe, knocking his head against it as he stood there and probably slept for a second. Junmyeon laughed quietly and looked down at his breakfast, spreading more strawberry jam over his bread.

 

He didn’t say anything, waiting for Sehun to properly wake up for a moment as he bit into the bread and sighed in content. He ate the same thing for breakfast every day, it still didn’t change his sweet love for strawberry jam.

 

"You wake up too early," Sehun mumbled as he finally pushed himself away from the door, slid his socked feet on the floor until he could drop on the seat next to Junmyeon’s at the dining table. His chair scraped on the floor as he pushed it closer to Junmyeon’s, enough to comfortably lean his head against his shoulder. It probably wasn’t comfortable, Junmyeon was shorter and he couldn’t imagine it not straining Sehun’s body.

 

"What’s that got to do with you waking up early?" he laughed, muffled in bread and jam. "You can just sleep more, you’re not working until noon."

 

Sehun’s reply came delayed by drowsiness. "I can’t sleep if you’re not there," he groaned, sounds a little sharp, a little dragged.

 

Junmyeon knew that was true. Sehun didn’t like sleeping alone, that was why he had never taken the guest bedroom and always slept in Junmyeon’s bed instead.

 

Junmyeon had moved out of his parent’s house years ago but he remembered it happening since Sehun’s second visit in this house. Only his second because on his first visit, he had slept in the guest bedroom and had been grumpy and very heavily tired the next morning. He had easily told Junmyeon that he didn’t like sleeping alone, that he usually had a bunch of plushies in his bed. Junmyeon knew, he had seen them more than once. 

 

They’d just slept in Junmyeon’s bed together ever since. It had never been a big deal. It was just Sehun. His neighbors’ snotty kid, the careless kid who had always asked Junmyeon to hold his textbook dozens of times as he recited multiplications by heart. The teenager who had told Junmyeon about his first boyfriend in high school, who had cried when Junmyeon had moved out of his parents’ house, who had asked if he could visit Junmyeon sometimes and had come over the very first day Junmyeon spent in this house.

 

He still kind of looked like a kid. With his disheveled hair, the clothes askew on his body, eyes closed and lips parted. Junmyeon couldn’t see his expression now, but he knew what Sehun looked like while sleeping, seconds after waking up, or while nodding off in front of a movie.

 

And Junmyeon now found it easier to sleep when Sehun was there. It wasn’t impossible without him but it was still a little uncomfortable.

 

"It’s my revenge then. For all the times you’ve woken me up early on the weekends I’m not working" he said, leaning close to Sehun’s head and biting on his slice of bread before munching on it loudly. Sehun blindly swatted him away with a groan and Junmyeon laughed, pulling back but not abruptly, he didn’t want to disturb Sehun’s comfort.

 

It was only by the time Junmyeon was spreading jam on his second slice of bread that Sehun pulled away from him with an exaggerated groan and a smile. Junmyeon looked at him, smiling back and crinkling his nose when Sehun flicked his finger over his mouth.

 

"Crumbles," he explained when Junmyeon narrowed his eyes at him before standing up and heading to the kitchen.

 

He came back a moment later with a bowl of cereals and sat back down, joining in the noisy eating.

 

"Did you tell your mom you wouldn’t go over for breakfast?" he asked after a while, scrolling through a few articles on his phone.

 

"Nope," Sehun said, with a mouthful of cereals and milk that broadened but stifled the sound of his voice.

 

"You should’ve told her," Junmyeon frowned, glancing up at him. "What if she gets worried and waits for you?"

 

"Why would she get worried when I’m with you? She knows I often stay around for breakfast anyway."

 

"But still," was all Junmyeon said, because he was kind of right. This had been happening for long enough that he supposed Sehun’s mother wouldn’t get worried anymore. But still, she was a mother, after all. Junmyeon’s mother still sometimes called him to ask where he was and what he was doing despite him being past thirty years old.

 

He looked back down at his phone. He’d have to leave in twenty minutes. He opened up Facebook and scrolled more, laughing when he stumbled upon a funny video involving birds.

 

"I love you."

 

Junmyeon’s thumb accidentally pressed on the screen, unmute-ing the bird that cackled at him. Sehun’s wasn’t cackling, laughing, or even smiling when Junmyeon looked at him. He was just casually munching on his cereals, looking at Junmyeon amidst the crunch of it.

 

Junmyeon laughed. Or tried to. Yesterday’s jokes came back to him. Jokes. They were jokes. His laughter hovered between them awkwardly.

 

"What’s with the sudden cheesiness," he teased the other, nudging him with his elbow and looking at him to catch any sign of amusement or humor. Sehun was always too good at keeping a straight face on.

 

He shrugged, spoon clinking against his bowl when it dived down for more.

 

"Well since you know it now and didn’t freak out about it, I might as well actually start telling you."

 

"What?" Junmyeon laughed and once again, he felt stupid. It felt like he had that same exact reaction too many times in the twenty four hours. Just laughing like an idiot. He took a deep breath in and cleared his throat. It was too early to be joking around like this.

 

Still just as calmly, Sehun waited to swallow his food, holding onto his spoon, his other arm folded on the table. This position always made his shoulders look broader.

 

"I love you. That’s it," he easily said and Junmyeon swore he hadn’t heard those words as much in the past year as he had heard them in the past few hours. That was kind of sad.

 

"You love me," he deadpanned, fingers holding onto one of the buttons on his shirt.

 

"Oh, so you like hearing it," Sehun said, tilting his head as his eyes brightened into a smile. "I can say it a third time if you want. I love you, hyung."

 

Junmyeon looked at him for a moment, just looked at him and tried to make sense of this situation. It didn’t make any sense. Sehun was smiling. It wasn’t a mocking or amused smile, nor a sly or teasing one. It was just his usual, content smile. With the softened arch of his eyebrows and the youthful joy spread on his lips, discreet because that was how Sehun had always been. This didn’t make sense.

 

He closed his eyes, supported his forehead on the palm of his hand, rubbed at the skin a little.

 

"You can’t go around and tell people you love them so easily, Sehun," he said, softly, a bit tiredly.

 

When he opened his eyes again and straightened up, Sehun was frowning at him. No more cereals, just milk left in his bowl.

 

"I don’t go around telling people I love them," he retorted, firm and sure of himself, gaze steady as it looked into Junmyeon’s. He gestured between them with his spoon. "I’m just sitting in front of the guy I’m in love with and telling him I love him."

 

"So you suddenly love me. Just like that. You’re suddenly in love with me," Junmyeon questioned, appalled as he gestured between them too.

 

Sehun tilted his head and hummed. "It’s not a sudden thing. It’s sudden to you only. Because despite me not really trying to hide it, you’ve just never noticed it. Until someone told you, I guess. I wasn’t lying when I used the adjective slow to describe you last night."

 

That. That could make sense. Perhaps. But no. Not really. It made absolutely no sense and Junmyeon swore he was smart and very fast so if this didn’t make sense to him, then it would make sense to no one else. Yes. That was it. Yes.

 

"Alright," he sighed, abandoning the conversation there before it started to eat him up. It was way, way too early for Junmyeon to turn into Sehun’s cereals. He stood up and dusted off any crumbles from his shirt. "I better go to work. Quickly. Do you need me to drive you somewhere?"

 

Sehun scrunched his nose, dipped his spoon into the milk, and slurped it off before answering.

 

"Nah, I’ll just laze around a bit and then go home."

 

"Great," Junmyeon said, ignoring the narrow of Sehun’s eyes. He didn’t want to carry this weird conversation out with him on his way to work. "I’ll get going then. Lock up behind you."

 

He started collecting the pot of jam, knife, and his full glass of orange juice. He looked at it then put it back down on the table. Sehun loved orange juice.

 

"Have a nice day at work," was what he thanked Junmyeon with as his hand wrapped around the glass to pull it to himself.

 

Junmyeon nodded silently and went to the kitchen. He gulped down a big glass of water and then headed towards the entrance hall, passing by the living room without looking at Sehun. He could still hear him slurp on his spoonfuls of milk.

 

He closed the door behind him after getting out, locking it and taking a pause there, staring at the wooden surface standing in front of him. He sighed and headed out of the building.

 

The car ride to the drugstore was spent thinking back on this unusual morning. Unusual. It wasn’t really. Most of the mornings he spent with Sehun were of a similar nature, one of them waking up first depending on who had to go to work earlier, the other following out of bed because it wasn’t that nice to stay under the blankets anymore. He slowed down when he neared a stop, glancing at the car behind him on the rearview mirror.

 

They usually ate breakfast together, Sehun usually had a harder time waking up, pulling all kinds of faces as he tried his hardest to wake up. He pressed on the gas again once he was sure no one would cut his path at the intersection and drove away. A red light stopped him only a few seconds later. The only difference was those words. I love you. It wasn’t his first time hearing it, he had had relationships before, had loved, been loved. Not enough for it not to run out a long time ago, but still. He had experienced it. It wasn’t the first time Sehun had told him either. He tapped his pointer finger against the wheel.

 

Sehun used to tell him he loved him a lot when he had been younger. When he used to cry and wanted to convince him to stay whenever Junmyeon was about to go home, only right next door. He had a lisp back then, more obvious when he was speaking Korean rather than English. He used to speak exclusively Korean with Junmyeon, until his mother had asked Junmyeon to use English instead, so Sehun could get used to it and make friends a little more easily at school. It was difficult to speak one language at home and another at school. Junmyeon had gone through the same thing, only a few years earlier than Sehun.

 

Sehun used to be so young. It was a weird thing to think. Everyone used to be so young. But Sehun used to be so young and now he was grown up, already had a job, a pay, was already twenty three years old. Junmyeon had watched him grow up, had grown up with him. And now Sehun claimed he loved him. He was so young still. Twenty three was young. Much younger in Junmyeon’s eyes than it really was, probably. But he couldn’t help it. Sehun was young, too young to know for sure that he loved Junmyeon. Either that or he was playing a long-running joke on him. It could only be either of these options.

 

Junmyeon sighed when he parked his car as close to the drugstore as possible. He got out, locked his car, and tried to empty his head during the short walk to the store. The door pealed when he pushed it open and Kyungsoo was already behind one of the three counters, writing something on a document.

 

"Good morning," he greeted him without looking up at him and Junmyeon crossed behind the counter to stand next to him.

 

"Are you guys all playing a prank on me or something? Why are you enrolling Sehun into your unfunny activities?"

 

Kyungsoo slowly raised his head from the document and looked at him, mouth twisted and eyes narrowed into utter confusion.

 

"What the hell are you saying?" he said, shaking his head in lack of comprehension. Junmyeon didn’t like feeling so stupid so early in the morning.

 

He cleared his throat, crossed his arms over his chest, and trailed his gaze over the white coat Kyungsoo was wearing.

 

"You guys told me that Sehun was in love with me yesterday," he explained, waiting for Kyungsoo’s features to lose their strain before continuing. "I told Sehun. Then he said he really was in love me instead of denying it. Then he said it three more times this morning. Did you pay him or something? I told Baekhyun to stop wasting money on bets with Sehun."

 

Kyungsoo kept his silence even after Junmyeon was done speaking, maybe a bit too fast. He put his pen down on the document, pushed his glasses up his nose with a finger, and shook his head at Junmyeon.

 

"You’re really so damn slow."

 

Junmyeon frowned. "Shut up. That’s now what you say when I’m driving you around," he huffed in offense.

 

"That’s because you’re a bad driver who doesn’t know how to use the break."

 

"And can you guys stop insulting me like that too? Slow?" Junmyeon continued without paying attention to his retort. "Sehun said the same thing. You’ve really planned everything out, haven’t you?" he questioned, narrowing his eyes at the other.

 

"Yeah, yeah," Kyungsoo nodded with that look on his face. The one that let Junmyeon know he wasn’t being taken seriously. He grabbed the documents and turned towards the door that led to the backrooms. "Stay in your denial all you want," he said, disappearing inside before Junmyeon even had the occasion to defend himself.

 

He pursed his lips and followed Kyungsoo in, huffing through his nose and hoping Kyungsoo hadn’t stolen his coat again because his wasn’t clean.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The door sang to welcome a customer at the very end of the day and despite the exhaustion of a full day of work, Junmyeon looked up to the door with a polite smile.

 

It was Sehun’s satisfied smile that greeted him back.

 

"What are you doing here?" Junmyeon laughed, looking back down at the computer as he continued shutting everything off. Kyungsoo barely even glanced towards them from his spot on the second counter, near the glass wall of the drugstore. He had probably seen Sehun outside.

 

Sehun folded his arms over the counter, resting his chin on a forearm as he looked at Junmyeon.

 

"I came to pick you up," he announced, an edge of pride in his voice.

 

Junmyeon snorted, not meanly, just a laugh reduced by the fact that he had been smiling all day already and it was tiring by now for his face to produce anything remotely close to a smile.

 

"You don’t even have a car," he teased the other, gaze focused on the computer as he pressed on a few keys.

 

"But you do," Sehun said, sliding closer to him over the counter. Junmyeon shut the computer off and looked at him again, witnessing the widening of his grin.

 

"So you’re just gonna use my own car to pick me up from work and drive me home?" he said, observing Sehun closely.

 

It had been his day off today. He usually didn’t do this. He liked driving Junmyeon’s car, not having one of his own, but he had never come all the way here to pick Junmyeon up from work.

 

"It’s because I love you," he shrugged, a faint jolt of his shoulders. "You’re welcome."

 

He was wearing a shirt they’d bought together. Junmyeon had the same one, a few sizes smaller. The pink of it suited Sehun better than it suited him. This was confusing. Junmyeon was confused, getting more confused the more he thought about it. About their conversation from this morning.

 

It made him feel weird. Stupid. Not really stupid. It made him feel strange, hearing those words.

 

He laughed. Because that was all he found to give Sehun as a reaction. It wasn’t forced either. Just weird.

 

"I’m not sure what you’re saying you’re welcome for," he hummed, tilting his head and taking his white coat off. For coming here to pick him up. For loving Junmyeon. Both options seemed likely, when it came to Sehun.

 

Sehun parted his lips to say something but Kyungsoo’s snort came from next to them and they both looked at the judgement magnified by the glasses he was wearing. Junmyeon narrowed his eyes at him.

 

"It’s okay, I’ll close up on my own," he said, nodding towards Sehun as his expression relaxed with a smile. A soft spot for Sehun. "You can leave with your boyfie."

 

Junmyeon frowned, parted his lips to protest at the appellation but Sehun beat him to it.

 

"We’re not boyfies, I haven’t asked him out yet," he said, completely focused on Kyungsoo as Junmyeon stared at him with wide eyes, coat still in his hands. He should use it strangle someone and put an end to this. But not Sehun. Life would be sad without Sehun. Not Kyungsoo. He’d lose the fight. Himself. That could work.

 

"Well," Kyungsoo drawled out, walking past Junmyeon to reach the third computer and shut it off as well. "You’ve already been boyfies for years anyway."

 

Sehun hummed. Junmyeon looked at him. Sehun nodded, lips pursed into a thoughtful strain.

 

"True," he said and that was the last straw. Junmyeon scoffed, disbelief choking his laugh.

 

"Okay," he said, a bit too loudly. "We’re going then."

 

And with that, he escaped into the lounging room at the back of the drugstore to finally hang his coat in its proper spot and take a break. This was getting worse than weird. Everyone was acting like this was not weird at all.

 

Boyfriends. Sehun and him. Junmyeon bit his lower lip. Maybe the weirdest thing about this was that it didn’t feel _weird._ Foreign. But not repulsive or entirely unthinkable. He shook his head and got out of the room.

 

Sehun was conversing with Kyungsoo about a movie and quickly cut the conversation off to join Junmyeon by the door. They bid Kyungsoo goodbye and silently got out of the drugstore. Junmyeon rummaged in the pocket of his jacket for his car keys and held them out to Sehun. Their fingers brushed when he took them. It had happened plenty of times before. Their fingers often touched, sometimes they held hands for no particular reason. This time, Junmyeon shoved his hand in his pocket instantly. It felt a bit tingly, the skin Sehun had touched.

 

The car ride home was silent. It wasn’t the first time. But it wasn’t like any other time either. Junmyeon didn’t feel awkward, just unusual. This was starting to feel less and less like a joke. He knew his friends. All three of them were too lazy to keep a joke going for an entire day. Maybe this wasn’t a joke.

 

"You don’t believe me, do you?"

 

Sehun’s voice pulled him out of his recollections about all those times. All those times he had said he loved Junmyeon. He recalled every single occurrence clearly.

 

"What?" he asked, even if he already knew what Sehun was talking about.

 

"That I love you. You don’t believe it," Sehun repeated, voice low enough for Junmyeon’s gaze to drift towards him.

 

He was focused on the road, frowning a little bit. Out of habit. He sounded normal. Too normal.

 

Junmyeon sighed. "I don’t know," he said, honestly. He really didn’t know what he thought, what he was supposed to think.

 

"Why?" Sehun asked then, glancing at him for a moment. His gaze was sharp, lucid. He wasn’t drunk, wasn’t emotional, wasn’t a snotty child trying to get Junmyeon to stay and play video games with him for a little longer. "Why don’t you believe me?"

 

"I don’t know," Junmyeon sighed again, biting his lower lip, hooking his thumb on his seatbelt and dragging it along the length of the rough fabric. "You’re so young, Sehun."

 

"So what?" Sehun instantly questioned and when Junmyeon looked at him again, he was frowning harder. His voice had been more striking this time.

 

"You’ve never been in a relationship before." Not since high school, at least. It had lasted three months. That was all Sehun had had and it wasn’t enough. "You don’t know what love is. You don’t know that you love me. Or anyone."

 

"Why are you the one to decide that?" Sehun asked and for a moment, Junmyeon remained silent. He watched the headlights of the cars driving on the opposite lane, towards them.

 

"I don’t decide anything. It’s the way it is," he mumbled, looking back at Sehun, trying to choose his words carefully, dragging his thumb up and down his seatbelt faster. "You can’t love me, you don’t love me. You only think you do. But you don’t."

 

He didn’t want this. He didn’t want Sehun to do this. To delude himself. To misunderstand what they had. He already spent too much time with Junmyeon, didn’t have as many friends as he should have. Junmyeon knew. He knew Sehun would choose his company over his own friends’ any day. He didn’t like it. Sehun wasn’t a child anymore. Junmyeon wasn’t his only play-friend anymore. Junmyeon didn’t want Sehun to think he only had Junmyeon, didn’t want to obscure over other options, a proper life.

 

But maybe Sehun didn’t understand that. He fell silent and when Junmyeon looked at him after a moment, thumb a little irate, he didn’t look back. Only focused on the road, only frowned. Junmyeon sighed and looked ahead of him again, chewing on his lower lip. Maybe he had gone a little too hard. He didn’t want to hurt Sehun. He never wanted to hurt Sehun. He dug his fingers into his thigh.

 

The silence persisted as Sehun parked the car in front of the building, persisted as they climbed up the stairs to the third floor, persisted as Junmyeon unlocked the door, and as they took their shoes and jackets off at the entrance hall.

 

Sehun went to the living room first, without looking at Junmyeon who stood there and watched him walk away. He sighed and hung his jacket on top of a cardigan Sehun hadn’t worn in months. They should wash it, it had probably collected dust or something. He went to the living room and stood at the entrance, watching Sehun a little more. He was holding a pillow on his lap, his other hand changing channels on the tv with the remote.

 

He was upset. Junmyeon could see it from his stance. His legs were gathered together instead of spread out annoyingly, he was leaning over his knees instead of slumping back against the couch. Junmyeon had gone too far, had probably chosen the wrong words, the wrong tone, had probably hurt Sehun.

 

"Have you eaten?" he asked as he slowly approached the other, sitting down next to him when Sehun hummed. Junmyeon wasn’t sure whether that was a yes or a no.

 

Sehun wasn’t looking at him, he was just focused on mindlessly changing the channel and Junmyeon felt a pinch somewhere inside of him each time Sehun’s finger pressed on the button of the remote. He should apologize. He should say something. He didn’t know how to deal with this. He should apologize.

 

"I don’t like this," Sehun spoke first, however. Junmyeon deflated a little. He still spoke to Junmyeon. Better than nothing.

 

"What?" he asked softly, gathering his hands on his lap, mimicking Sehun’s discomfort by keeping his back straight instead of leaning against the couch.

 

"The way you think," Sehun easily replied. So easily. He always voiced every single one of his thoughts, of his opinions without any problem. He was always so honest. There was no reason for this to be a lie or a joke or anything other than the truth. Sehun put the remote down on the coffee table and finally turned to frown at Junmyeon. "You think I don’t know love. But I do. I discovered love through you. You can’t tell me I don’t that I love you when it’s something that’s been happening for years without _you_ knowing it."

 

Junmyeon looked at him, really looked at him. There was no accusal in his expression, in his voice, only determination in the furrow of his eyebrows. He wanted Junmyeon to understand him, to look into the steadiness of his gaze. And Junmyeon did.

 

Sehun was nice. He had always been a kindhearted kid. Junmyeon knew his faults, his tendency to dramatize things, to depend on his friends too much, to focus on one thing when he liked it and discard everything else way too much. But Junmyeon also knew every single one of his qualities. He had many of those. Honesty was one of them.

 

Maybe Sehun loved him. Junmyeon didn’t know. He swallowed down, gaze flickering between Sehun’s eyes, fingers nervously clenching together. Sehun was a smart child, had always been. He wasn’t a child anymore but he was still one of the smartest people Junmyeon knew. He was determined too, a hard worker who had dropped out of college because he hated it and had found a job instead. A simple job at one of the McDonald’s scattered over the city, a job that had made him struggle a bit with overworking and stress. But somehow, Sehun had managed to upgrade from putting food in bags to leading things a little more as the manager. He was young, way too young for that position in that kind of establishment. But he had somehow done it and he was good at his job.

 

Sehun wasn’t stupid. Junmyeon never thought that he was stupid, not even now as they silently stared at each other. But he was so young and Junmyeon didn’t know. Sehun probably didn’t know either.

 

He sighed. A big, heavy inhale that felt as heavy in his body as it felt when he breathed it out again.

 

"Since when?" he asked, looking down at his hands, unable not to ask.

 

Sehun had said years. Junmyeon wasn’t stupid. Maybe Junmyeon was a little stupid when it came to Sehun. He had always been. All those times he had let Sehun drag him into trouble by the hand when they had been kids. All these times he had taken the blame for nothing and then had gotten scolded for nothing and then thought it wasn’t really for nothing - but for Sehun. All these times he had felt like Sehun swindled a night over out of him, a few fries, his drink, his bed, his home. Junmyeon had never done anything to prevent it.

 

Even now, Sehun could easily say it. That he loved someone, that he loved _him_. Junmyeon felt like he was making a big deal out of nothing, stupidly.

 

But when Sehun smiled at him, reassured, content, Junmyeon didn’t feel that stupid. He had always felt happy, a little proud when that happened. When he made that happen, the smile.

 

"I’m not sure when exactly but since we were kids. It’s really been years, hyung. I’m a loyal lover," he boasted, tilting closer to Junmyeon and bumping his shoulder against his.

 

Junmyeon laughed at that, letting the weight of Sehun’s body sway him slightly. Sehun could be boastful, playfully haughty even in this kind of topic. This wasn’t awkward. It was just Sehun, as usual. Sehun who used to have no friends when Junmyeon’s family had first moved in next door, who couldn’t make friends because no one at school understood him when he spoke a lot of Korean and very little broken English, not his classmates, not even his teachers. Sehun whose first friend had been Junmyeon. Sehun whose favorite friend had always been Junmyeon. He used to announce it to his mom once a day, she would recount it to Junmyeon’s mom who’d then recount it to him in laughter.

 

Maybe that was why. Sehun had never really had any other option. But he had plenty of friends now. Perhaps it was just a habit. Not love, just a habit.

 

"Okay," Junmyeon sighed, slumping back against the couch. Sehun twisted to follow him with his gaze. "I guess. Fine," Junmyeon said, hands gesturing between them with no particular reason. He was just nervous.

 

He watched as Sehun’s gaze narrowed, his smile widening, sharpening into amusement.

 

"Why do you sound like you’re reluctantly giving me permission to do something?" he asked, drawling his question out. Junmyeon twisted his mouth, remained silent. That was the tone that implied Sehun wasn’t asking for an answer. He comfortably slumped next to Junmyeon, their arms pressing together. "I’m not asking for permission to love you. I don’t need it."

 

Junmyeon huffed, an airy laugh that meshed amusement and disbelief together as he looked at Sehun’s raised, unwavering eyebrows.

 

"You’re really gonna claim that you love me and then continue acting like a brat?"

 

Sehun hummed, pressed his shoulder harder against Junmyeon’s, tilting him sideways a little.

 

"I’m just saying I love you and I’m a brat but at least, I’m your brat. Right?" he asked almost right into Junmyeon’s ear from how close they were.

 

Junmyeon used his entire strength to straighten both himself and Sehun by pushing back against his shoulder, letting out an ugly sound halfway between a groan and a laugh that made Sehun chortle. He scrunched his nose at him and Sehun’s shoulder quaked against his as he laughed fully, until Junmyeon himself couldn’t help but join in.

 

This was funny, cute, not bad. This. Being themselves even if Sehun said he was in love with him. It wasn’t that bad, it didn’t make him feel weird in a negative way. Just a little more nervous. He supposed he could do this, until Sehun just got tired. If Junmyeon went along with it, he’d get tired after some time and then drop it. Because this was probably some kind of new interest, like that time he had gotten obsessed with car racing and had dragged Junmyeon to a bunch of races before getting tired of it a month later. This was the same thing. Except it was love. And Junmyeon.

 

He swallowed, looked down, traced a finger over a nail of his opposite hand.

 

"Fine, I believe you," Junmyeon said without looking at Sehun. Until he heard a snort.

 

"Stop lying," Sehun tutted at him, shaking his head. He continued talking before Junmyeon could even defend himself. "It’s okay I’ll make you believe me and well, even if you don’t believe me you already act like my boyfriend, so it doesn’t matter."

 

Junmyeon parted his lips, trying his hardest to just say something to defend himself but nothing came out of his mouth. He acted like Sehun’s boyfriend. That didn’t make sense. But he couldn’t say it, he could only gape at Sehun as he got up, put his hands on his waist, looked down at him with a grin.

 

"Let’s eat broccolis now," he said, with that bossy tone of his that was always softened by the way he pronounced those words, a little whiny, a little happy.

 

"You cook them," Junmyeon huffed, finally managing to say something. This, he could reply to without feeling dumb.

 

Sehun turned around and headed towards the kitchen. "I’ll deep fry them then," he announced, disappearing out of the door.

 

Junmyeon scrambled up to his feet and ran to prevent the disaster from happening.

 

Since Sehun seemed to drop the conversation, Junmyeon tried his hardest not to think about it as they cooked together. But it was difficult. It was difficult not to blink and flash back to Sehun casually telling him he loved him, casually telling him it had been happening for years, so easily affirming that Junmyeon was acting like his boyfriend.

 

Junmyeon didn’t see it. He couldn’t see it. He was just acting normal with Sehun. Cooking with him, laughing with him, scooping up the mushed crumbles of broccolis from his plate and giving them to Sehun instead because he loved these tiny bits.

 

He tried not to think about it. But it was hard. It felt like everything was different now. It felt like Sehun was looking at him more, for longer, for no particular reason. Junmyeon wasn’t sure he noticed it because Sehun just did whatever he wanted now, or because he just looked at Sehun more carefully, more often himself.

 

He didn’t want to believe him. He didn’t know if he already believed him. He didn’t know why he felt different when looking at Sehun now that he had heard all those things. About love.

 

Junmyeon didn’t know and it was eating him up even when they were in bed, much later. Sehun was doing something on his phone, holding one of Junmyeon’s arm against his chest and supporting his other arm on Junmyeon’s chest. He did that often, to comfortably have both his phone and Junmyeon in his hold. Junmyeon never minded the dig of the device’s corner against his chest. But tonight, he felt a prickle. Not from the phone. Sehun’s proximity.

 

He turned his head, looking at him. There was a cold sheen of light on his features from the phone, illuminating them but shadowing them at the same time. It was the same concentrated frown, the same eyes, nose, lips, scar on the cheek that Junmyeon had seen thousands of times before. They all looked different. He couldn’t pinpoint how exactly, but they did.

 

He took a deep breath in, cleared his throat, and spoke.

 

"What did you mean earlier?" he asked, a low mumble that he hoped would sound sleepy and not nervous.

 

Sehun locked his phone and put it face down on Junmyeon’s chest, still holding it.

 

"About what?" he asked and Junmyeon was thankful for the sudden lack of light that made it difficult to see Sehun, made it difficult for Sehun to see him.

 

He bit his lower lip, felt Sehun’s knee bumping against his leg.

 

"When you said I already act like your boyfriend," he explained, a bit hesitant, a bit rushed.

 

Perhaps Sehun didn’t understand him. He remained silent for a bit and Junmyeon strained his eyes until he could make out his features. He didn’t look particularly upset or confused.

 

"Hyung," he said, pulling a hum out of Junmyeon out of habit. When he used to be younger, much younger, Sehun would keep calling out to him even after Junmyeon was already looking at him. He used to do it until Junmyeon hummed to confirm he was looking at him, listening to him. It had never been annoying. "What are we doing now?"

 

Junmyeon’s confusion was loud in his silence.

 

"Sleeping?" he said, unsure as to why Sehun was replying to his question with one of his own.

 

"Oh, so we’re sleep talking together," Sehun snorted, a finger tapping on his chest. "Silly," he whispered, laughing when Junmyeon tried pushing him away with an elbow. He only clung harder.

 

"We’re _about_ to sleep," Junmyeon scoffed as he adjusted his legs against Sehun’s more comfortably.

 

"Yes. Good. And how?"

 

Junmyeon furrowed his eyebrows, looking at him. Sehun blinked. Junmyeon blinked back. Once more when Sehun didn’t expand on his question. How. Junmyeon looked around them, at the darkness in the room, and then looked down at himself. He was wearing a shirt, no pants. Sehun was wearing sweatpants, no shirt. Oh. Their legs were hooked together, Sehun’s chest felt warm where it was pressed against Junmyeon’s arm. Oh.

 

"Oh," Junmyeon whispered, frowning. They were cuddling. Half naked, he supposed.

 

"Yep. Oh," Sehun echoed mockingly and Junmyeon’s gaze snapped back to him in offense. "I love you," he said before Junmyeon could reprimand him or say anything other than a stupid sound. He shut his mouth. Sehun leaned closer and pressed his lips against his cheek. A kiss. He closed his eyes and settled back down on his pillow, taking the phone away from Junmyeon’s chest and draping his arm over it instead. "Let’s sleep now," he mumbled, hand blindly putting the phone somewhere next to his pillow.

 

And it was strange. Sehun had kissed his cheek before, when they used to be a kid and when he sometimes wanted to tease Junmyeon with too much contact. It had never made him hyper aware of the spot his lips touched on his skin before.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sehun wasn’t pretty. Sehun was pretty. Sehun wasn’t _that_ pretty.

 

But he kind of was.

 

Sehun had always been good-looking. Junmyeon wasn’t stupid. Nor blind. He could see it. In the way Sehun used to have a lot of female friends in school. In the way people stared at him a lot. In the way Sehun had a quite hefty following on Instagram, received lots of messages. In the way Sehun just looked. Junmyeon saw it. Knew it.

 

And yet, this was different. Junmyeon never really stopped to think that Sehun was handsome, pretty, beautiful, stunning, or any other similar concepts. It was just Sehun. But now, Junmyeon

couldn’t, for the life of him, look away from Sehun.

 

There was a lot of people to stare at around him. McDonald’s was always crowded in the evening and there was so many people Junmyeon could look at, the kid who was crying a few tables away, the two middle-aged men drinking coffee and looking out of place in their suits, the very noisy group of teenagers in front of him, the colorful crumbles of M&M’s in his ice cream. But no. Junmyeon only looked at Sehun.

 

He was different. He didn’t look different. Junmyeon just felt like something in the way _he_ looked at Sehun had shifted. That would explain why he was suddenly so pretty. The top button of his shirt undone, sleeves rolled up his forearms to reveal that leather bracelet they had bought together, hairstyle a bit slumped under the weight of a full day of work, eyebrows furrowed as he pointed at a worker with his pen while explaining something. He then laughed at something another girl said and Junmyeon looked down at his ice cream, swirling his spoon inside.

 

By the time he was done drinking his ice cream soup, Sehun approached him with a light smile.

 

"Ready to go?" he asked, to which Junmyeon nodded, standing up and grabbing his cup.

 

They got out of the fast-food restaurant after dumping the cup and spoon in the trash bin and Junmyeon gave his car keys to Sehun without him having to ask for it. It wasn’t silent this time, Junmyeon told Sehun about the weird client of the day. They got those almost every day, sometimes it was people who came to them with nose pain because they had crushed their painkillers and snorted them instead of gulping it down with water. Sometimes it was people who came back two days in a row asking if they were sure that they had given them the right medicine because the name on the bottle didn’t look like what the doctor had written down.

 

Sehun told him about the various mistakes each of his workers had done, mostly while laughing. He rarely got angry at his workers, didn’t believe that pressuring people by screaming at them would make them work faster during rush hour.

 

Silence fell over them at some point, a hush over the song whispering on the radio, and Junmyeon stretched his hand out, palm held skywards. He folded his fingers, unfolded them again. His hand felt sticky. But he couldn’t see why it felt sticky. He narrowed his eyes. Maybe it was the ice cream, it might’ve somehow dripped on his palm without him noticing it.

 

The stickiness turned into warmth when Sehun suddenly slapped his hand on his like a high five, only to leave it there and lace their fingers together.

 

Wide-eyed, Junmyeon looked at the smile Sehun was directing to the road along with his entire attention.

 

"What are you doing?" he asked after a silent moment, taken aback.

 

He looked down at their hands. It wasn’t the first time they held hands. It felt like it was.

 

"You were holding your hand up like that so I thought you wanted me to hold it," Sehun said, glancing at the mirror on his left, hand still wrapped into Junmyeon’s.

 

"I didn’t," he mumbled, gaze jumping on the bump of Sehun’s knuckles.

 

They were just holding hands. That was nothing. Just hands pressed together, holding each other. Not the first time. But it was different. He wasn’t holding Sehun’s hand. He was holding the hand of someone who claimed he loved him. Who loved him. Junmyeon really did not know why he was trying so hard not to believe it.

 

"Should I let go then? Do you hate it?" Sehun asked, no trace of accusation, disappointment, or even curiosity in his voice. Junmyeon looked at him and caught his gaze fleeting to the road for a moment before coming back to him.

 

He thought about it, looking at Sehun, feeling each of his fingers hugging each of his.

 

He hadn’t held the hand of someone who loved him in a while. Holding hands had never really made him nervous. Not nervous. Fuzzy and restless. His fingers twitched against the back of Sehun’s hand.

 

Junmyeon thought about it.

 

"I don’t," he breathed out, looking back up at Sehun who smiled at him.

 

"That’s what I thought," he said with a shrug before letting go of Junmyeon’s hand.

 

He shifted the gear and grabbed Junmyeon’s hand again before he even had the occasion to feel disappointed. Or not. Junmyeon had sensed the disappointment.

 

He didn’t know why this was different, why he enjoyed this more than any other previous time they had held hands. But he did, just as much as he enjoyed the yellow glow streetlights and headlights poured over Sehun’s pretty skin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

His work days always ended up on a funny note when Baekhyun came to visit them at the drugstore. Tonight, it had ended on a reprimanding note.

 

Junmyeon wasn’t sure how he felt about _Baekhyun_ scolding _him_ on a matter that concerned Sehun. He was used to the contrary. It hadn’t felt that nice when Baekhyun had called him stupid after Junmyeon had said that he didn’t really believe Sehun but was just going with the flow until Sehun realized that he wasn’t in love with him. Junmyeon knew Sehun wasn’t fifteen anymore, that he had a functioning brain of his own, and that he was mature enough to know what love was.

 

It had felt worse when Kyungsoo had started backing Baekhyun up against him.

 

He closed the door behind him, locking it and toeing his shoes off. He took his jacket off and went to the living room. He turned the light on and stood at the entrance, sighing. There was no Sehun tonight. It wasn’t anything unusual, Sehun didn’t stay over or visit every day but he had spent the night over three days in a row and it felt a little odd now. Like something was missing. Sehun, obviously.

 

Junmyeon quickly heated the leftover pasta they had cooked last night and ate it on the couch. Leftover pasta wasn’t the best meal ever but it was more than enough for a stomach that had started eating itself over. There was no more broccolis left in the sauce, Sehun had eaten every piece of it, shoving them into his mouth and trying not to choke as he laughed with his puffy cheeks when Junmyeon scolded him.

 

He sighed, turning the tv on and shoveling more food into his mouth. As he changed the channel, his phone rang and he glanced at where it laid on the table, sitting up when he saw Sehun’s name on the screen. He put his plate down and grabbed the device instead, slumping back against the couch as he swiped his thumb on the screen.

 

"I missed you, hyung," Sehun grinned at him on the screen as Junmyeon adjusted the length between the phone and his face.

 

"We saw each other this morning," he laughed, checking the small image of him on the corner of the screen before looking at Sehun again. He was in bed, already wearing one of his pajama shirts. He didn’t always wear it when they FaceTimed but Junmyeon was glad he was wearing it now. It was getting colder at night lately.

 

He watched as Sehun tilted his head down, pressing his lips together into a reprimanding twist and giving him a look that pulled another laugh out of him.

 

"So you didn’t miss me too? Is that what you’re saying?" he questioned him, bringing the phone closer to his face until all Junmyeon could see was his pronounced frown.

 

Junmyeon hummed, grimacing exaggeratedly as he thought about it. It wasn’t the first time Sehun said something like that. That he missed him. A lot of things that weren’t unfamiliar felt completely novel to Junmyeon. He didn’t hate it. It wasn’t unpleasant.

 

"Well," he drawled out, laughing as he could perfectly see Sehun’s eye narrow at him. "Maybe a little."

 

He pulled the phone closer to his face when Sehun pulled it away from his, finally giving Junmyeon a full view of his face and upper body instead of his forehead and eyelashes.

 

"Understandable," Sehun said, nodding to himself in satisfaction. Junmyeon snorted as he moved to stretch his feet on the coffee table, carefully avoiding the still half-full plate of pasta. "I’m very good company, I kinda brighten your house. We should definitely buy white curtains or something."

 

Junmyeon frowned as he glanced at his brown curtains.

 

"Don’t you dare touch my house," he threatened the other, meeting the unimpressed raise of Sehun’s eyebrows when he looked back at his phone.

 

"It’s kind of my house too," he said, scratching at his neck. Junmyeon could see faint redness appearing under his fingers, he had sensitive skin. "According to my mom, at least."

 

"Why? What did she say?" Junmyeon smiled. It was totally something that Sehun’s mother would say.

 

Sehun shook his head, pursing his lips until his upper lip was nudged right under his nose. He always did weird grimaces when he was in a good mood.

 

"She’s just being dramatic, keeps saying it feels like I live in your house and visit her from time to time instead of the contrary."

 

Junmyeon laughed at that, throwing his head back to rest it on the couch and raising his phone so Sehun could still see his face properly. So he could still see Sehun’s face probably. He truly had maybe missed him a little bit.

 

"She’s actually kind of right," Junmyeon hummed, tilting his head, meeting Sehun’s gaze on the screen. "I kind of adopted you."

 

Sehun scrunched his nose. "I prefer the term _married._ "

 

Junmyeon raised his eyebrows. "We’re not married," he said.

 

"We kinda are," Sehun shrugged, turning to lay sideways on his bed and supporting his head on his palm.

 

"We’re not," Junmyeon repeated, lips twitching into a smile at the narrow of Sehun’s eyes. Cute. He was cute. Weirdly, he wasn’t the usual kind of cute. Not the youthful, childish kind. Something else. He didn’t know what kind exactly yet, but it wasn’t the same as before. As before the _I love you_ ’s.

 

"We are," Sehun argued, dragging his second word out.

 

Junmyeon raised his hand, shoving it against his screen.

 

"Where’s my ring then?" he questioned before pausing, not lowering his hand.

 

They weren’t like that usually. They didn’t have this kind of conversation. Or maybe they had always been like that but Junmyeon had thought it normal. Now, it was still normal. Just a little out of the norm. More special. Because Sehun loved him. Or so he believed. Maybe Sehun really did love him.

 

"I didn’t know you were so money-oriented," he heard, finally lowering his hand and looking at the smiles in Sehun’s eyes.

 

He chuckled and shook his head, dropping the conversation, dropping his hand against his chest, gripping his shirt. An unfamiliar sensation.

 

He silently looked at Sehun, Sehun silently looked back at him, hand digging into his cheek but not obstructing his smile.

 

"Come over tomorrow," Junmyeon said then, voicing out the first thought that popped in his head.

 

"Should I?" Sehun hummed, bringing the phone closer to his face. Junmyeon couldn’t see the scar on his cheek because of the bad lighting of Sehun’s room. He liked that scar. It was cute. Sehun had cried the whole night after he had tripped at school in a bad fall and Junmyeon had had to sleep over and tell his snotty, teary neighbor not to take the bandaid off or else it’d make him sad.

 

Junmyeon nodded. Sehun should come over tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Junmyeon picked the broccoli from his plate and put them in Sehun’s.

 

Sehun pushed at his elbow a little bit but Junmyeon didn’t budge. He knew that was a way for Sehun to tell him to get his elbow out of his side of the table but Junmyeon really didn’t feel like moving his chair a bit to the side. Sehun’s limbs were longer. He should be the one to accommodate to him.

 

After another jolt at his elbow, Junmyeon looked at Sehun who merely grinned at him. He smiled back at him obnoxiously and glanced at Baekhyun, tuning back in to his story about the old lady at the supermarket. Old people apparently loved to harass customer service workers. He cut a piece of meat and looked at his glass when Sehun poured water into it.

 

"You guys really always act like you’re boyfies."

 

Junmyeon’s fork scraped against his plate as his gaze snapped up to Kyungsoo across from him, meeting his attentive but amused expression.

 

"We don’t," he said, eyeing Sehun when he plunged his fork into his plate and found a forgotten broccoli amidst his vegetables.

 

"You do," Baekhyun backed Kyungsoo up, as usual, pointing at him with his knife and then swaying it between Sehun and him.

 

"We don’t," Junmyeon insisted, widening his eyes in exasperation. It was his second time hearing that. It annoyed him. Because they were kind of right. Junmyeon didn’t like being wrong.

 

But he was. They acted like they were in a relationship. Slept together. Messaged each other too much. Got lonely without each other. Junmyeon missed Sehun too quickly, paid too much attention to him. Let him get away with too many things. Hung out with him the most despite the age difference and the bunch of same-aged friends he had. Got a little sad when Sehun talked too much about a new friend he made despite knowing that it wasn’t really a friend but a mere acquaintance. Sehun didn’t make friends easily. Junmyeon still feared replacement, sudden disinterest. Still never got bored of Sehun’s presence despite them having stuck together since they were kids.

 

Sehun loved Junmyeon. But Junmyeon. Junmyeon didn’t know. Not about Sehun. About himself. He had never noticed that Sehun was in love him. There could be so many other things that he didn’t notice.

 

"You do," Kyungsoo singsonged, looking at Baekhyun and returning his weird, wiggly smile.

 

Junmyeon was about to protest again, perhaps throw something at Baekhyun, but Sehun suddenly wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him closer, his chair scraping a little on the floor.

 

"I’m still working on it," he said, looking at Junmyeon with a grin. Not a handsome smile. An annoying, confident one. Yes. Annoying because it flustered him. Sehun never flustered him. Annoying. Yes.

 

Junmyeon pulled himself away from him with a nudge of his elbow against Sehun’s side, looking down at his meat again and ignoring the pained, probably exaggerated sound Sehun let out. He shoved a piece of meat in his mouth and tranquilly chewed on it, ignoring Baekhyun and Kyungsoo’s laughter too. Nothing would come between him and his juicy steak. He still spared a second to kick Baekhyun under the table, which resulted in more laughter from the two others and a whine from his dramatically wounded friend.

 

They continued eating, Baekhyun and Sehun sharing stories that both Kyungsoo and Junmyeon had already heard. Baekhyun didn’t visit the drugstore as often as Sehun, they mostly shared weird memes and videos on the phone to communicate and caught up when they met.

 

Baekhyun excused himself first, having to rush to work since his lunch break ended earlier than everyone else’s. The rest of them didn’t linger in the restaurant for much longer, however, heading towards the drugstore. They left Kyungsoo to open up the drugstore first and Junmyeon drove Sehun to the McDonald’s he worked in, listening to him singing along to the radio while typing on his phone the whole ride.

 

He parked the car, turned the engine off, raised his hands above the wheel.

 

"We’re here," he said and Sehun put his phone down on his lap, looking at him and stretching his arms up to mimic him.

 

"We are," he confirmed, as if they needed that. Junmyeon laughed at him, a smile lingering on his face when it saw the curve on Sehun’s lips.

 

He nodded towards the clock on the car’s dashboard when Sehun made no move to get out, or even unbuckle his seatbelt.

 

"You’re gonna be late."

 

"I won’t," Sehun shook his head before tilting it. "Close your eyes."

 

Junmyeon gave him a confused laugh. "Why?"

 

"Just do it," Sehun insisted, grabbing his arm and shaking it a little.

 

Sighing more for show than out of exasperation, Junmyeon closed his eyes and leaned closer to Sehun to prove it to him. He heard an airy chuckle followed by the sharp buzz of a hand quickly sliding over the fabric of a jacket. A little more rustling, a weird sticky sound, a sharper, smaller one, a repeat of it all along with a a heightening of Junmyeon’s confusion. He remained silent, however, and soon, he felt a hand grabbing his.

 

He went to lace his fingers with Sehun, unsure why _he_ tried doing that, but Sehun pulled his fingers away anyway and only held onto one of Junmyeon’s fingers. Then, he felt something sticking to his skin, Sehun twisted his hand a bit painfully, wrapping something around it.

 

"Done," Sehun perked up after a while of moving Junmyeon’s hand around. He was still holding onto it now. "You can open up now."

 

Junmyeon opened his eyes and looked down at his hand, lips parting at the unexpected sight. There was a piece of paper stuck around his ring finger with tape. He pulled his hand away from Sehun’s, brought it closer to his face and turned his hand around, biting onto his lips. In big, black, bold letters, Sehun’s name was spelled on the piece of paper wrapped around his finger like a ring.

 

" _Now_ we’re married," Sehun said, with enough gravity in his voice that Junmyeon laughed when he found more of it on his face.

 

He pressed his hand against his eyes, felt the taped paper against the bridge of his nose, shook his head. It didn’t feel like paper and tape. It didn’t feel like a ring either, like the kind of ring Junmyeon had meant when they’d talked about being married last night on FaceTime. It felt like a braid of warmth around his finger.

 

Lowering his hand, he relaxed against his seat. He tried looking at Sehun. It was difficult. The fluster fuzzing in his chest made it difficult. But Sehun’s grin was pretty and Junmyeon had a hard time not looking at it. Pretty and smug. This was childish. So childish. It still made Junmyeon stretch his hand towards Sehun and his gaze fall on the ’S’ and the half of an ‘E’ he could see on his finger.

 

"You don’t have a ring though," he said, nodding towards Sehun’s bare hand and then wiggling his fingers. "This could be just any Sehun."

 

"I’m not stupid," Sehun huffed, hand reaching to his left and only then did Junmyeon notice that there was a piece of tape stuck to the passenger door’s handle. Another piece of paper. Junmyeon’s name in smaller letters. Sehun caught it on the tip of a finger and pulled it away from the door, bringing it towards Junmyeon alongside his smile. "But I’m the only Sehun you’re allowed to have, so put it on for me."

 

Junmyeon looked at him for a while. Just looked at him. He should refuse. He didn’t want to. He pressed his lips together. His cheeks were starting to hurt from smiling but he still grabbed the make-shift ring and wrapped it around Sehun’s finger as carefully as possible. He patted it once it was secured and Sehun grabbed his hand again. Junmyeon pressed his lips together, looking at the silly scribbles of their names clashing together.

 

"This is so childish," he said, a whisper, not a lie but not the entire truth either. It was cuter than it was childish.

 

"Yet you’re still doing it," Sehun retorted, wiggling his fingers against Junmyeon’s and ticking a quiet chuckle out of him. Junmyeon weaved their fingers together. "I guess I’m not entirely the only one in love here."

 

He didn’t look up from their hands. He had heard it clearly. He didn’t look at Sehun, just swallowed down and stared at the letters he could see on their fingers. It looked good. His hand together with Sehun’s. Together.

 

Maybe.

 

"I gotta go now," Sehun said and before Junmyeon could look at him, he pressed a quick kiss against his cheek.

 

Their eyes met and Sehun’s smile coaxed his lips into one of their own. His gaze fell. To Sehun’s lips. To Sehun.

 

He didn’t say anything and Sehun unbuckled his belt, opened the door, and then let go of his hand to get out. Junmyeon’s gaze trailed behind him as he walked towards the fast-food restaurant and entered. The tape pulled on his skin when he grabbed the wheel and drove away.

 

He thought about it. On his way to the drugstore, he thought about it. Maybe. Just maybe.

 

When he arrived, his cheeks still hurt from smiling too much. It didn’t take too long for Kyungsoo to see his hand and tease him about it, about their disgusting cuteness, about Junmyeon _finally_ believing Sehun’s claims about loving him.

 

Junmyeon wasn’t really shy. At that moment, as he looked down at a name wrapped around his finger, he felt shy, abashed. Still, he didn’t take it off, sticking it back on a few times throughout the afternoon when the tape started peeling off.

 

Maybe Junmyeon did a little more than believe that Sehun loved him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Junmyeon turned around, opened his eyes, and closed them right back with agroan when he met Sehun’s gaze.

 

"Why are you staring at me?" he groaned against his pillow, stretching his arms over his head and trying to extend his legs to the edge of the bed.

 

His arms fell back down with a sigh and he rubbed his nose against the cushiness of the pillow as he turned his head towards Sehun again. He was still staring, just a little closer to Junmyeon’s face, smile just a little sillier. Cuter.

 

"I love you," was all he said before diving to nudge his nose right under Junmyeon’s ear, nuzzling and tickling him.

 

Junmyeon laughed, dragging the sound into a groan when Sehun threw an arm across his back and a leg over his butt, sticking himself to his side. He turned around to lay on his back instead of his front and Sehun instantly pushed his face against his neck again, this time holding onto his arm and tangling his leg with Junmyeon’s.

 

Junmyeon moved his arm until he could slide it under Sehun’s neck and turned his head to bury his nose in his hair as he felt Sehun tugging at his shirt, digging his finger in his chest, and just tapping his finger there. They remained silent for a while, Junmyeon opened his eyes and stared at the lamp on his bedside table, at the two pieces of paper taped on it. The rings Sehun had made hadn’t lasted more than one afternoon, peeling off by the time they’d gotten home. Junmyeon had stuck them there, because he didn’t really feel right about throwing them away.

 

He moved a little and looked down at the mop of hair under his chin.

 

"There’s really nothing different," he said, voicing out a thought that’d been in his head for a few days now.

 

Sehun pulled away just enough to look at him properly, hand resting on Junmyeon’s chest now.

 

"In what?" he asked, blinking at him drowsily. It wasn’t that dark, Junmyeon could see him properly from the light seeping through the blinds. He looked like he always did. Junmyeon maybe wasn’t looking at him like he used to. He was cuter.

 

"In us," he said in a breath hat turned into a noisy inhale when he yawned. Sehun playfully tried shutting his mouth by pushing under his chin. Junmyeon swatted his hand away, groaning when laughing and yawning at the same time pinched at his jaw a little painfully. "You said you love me but there’s nothing different," he said then, finishing his thought.

 

It wasn’t as difficult to address this as it had been the first day. He had gotten used to it. Had grown to appreciate it. Had grown into more, maybe.

 

Sehun sighed as he stretched his arm and let it fall back on Junmyeon’s belly. "I didn’t start loving you the day I said I did," he said, moving his head back to comfortably rest it on Junmyeon’s pillow and look at him properly."It’s been a long time, it’s nothing new. And why would it change anything anyway?"

 

"I don’t know," Junmyeon honestly replied.

 

He wasn’t sure. It hadn’t changed anything and maybe he hadn’t expected Sehun to change, but him. He hadn’t really changed. He didn’t feel self-conscious around Sehun, or repulsed, more worried than usual, or angry at him for feeling something that could potentially change them forever.

 

It was still the same as it had always been. Except he couldn’t stop looking at Sehun. Sehun had never really been pretty in his eyes before.

 

He looked at him carefully. At his slowly blinking eyes, the high bridge of his nose, the dark of his eyebrows brightening his face instead of obscuring it, the parting of his lips. Upper one much thinner than his lower one. Okay. Maybe Sehun was a little beautiful. Handsome. Anything remotely close to these words.

 

Sehun tilted his head and blinked at him quickly, tilting it to the other side and doing it over and over again while getting in Junmyeon’s face. He had noticed he was staring. Junmyeon laughed and pushed him away with a hand against his forehead, laughing when Sehun only groaned and stuck himself to his chest again, clinging to his waist and kicking the blanket away.

 

"So you believe me now?" Sehun mumbled against his neck and Junmyeon dug his chin into his head.

 

"Have you been trying to make me believe you for the past week?" he asked, suspicion stretching his sentence out.

 

Sehun shook his head until Junmyeon pulled his head back with a chortle. "Not really," he said, cupping Junmyeon’s neck with his careful fingers. It was just a neck. Sehun was always extra careful when he touched him. Junmyeon should’ve figured it out a long time ago. All the soft touches, soft gazes, soft smiles. "I mean kind of. But I didn’t really do anything special. I just acted like myself, maybe a bit freer and more obvious than usual. But it’s still me, you know. I love you but it’s still me. It’s still you."

 

It was. It really was still Sehun and him. He pressed his smile against Sehun’s hair, just because, and then ruffled his already messy strands.

 

"I’ll go get ready for work and you should too," he said, laughing when Sehun pulled away from him with a groan and a scrunched face.

 

Junmyeon got up and walked to his closet, humming as he tried figuring out what he wanted to wear today.

 

"I’ll be at my mom’s today and tomorrow I’ll sleep over at Jongin’s. Well, not sleep. I’ll beat his ass at video games all night," Sehun said behind him and when Junmyeon turned around, he was sitting in the middle of the bed, blanket balled up on his lap.

 

"If he starts making out with Taemin in front of you and forgets that you’re there again, you can escape here," he casually said, smiling when Sehun groaned

 

He turned back to his closet and rummaged inside as Sehun whined about him not having to remind that nightmare to him.

 

Two nights without Sehun. He could survive if they FaceTimed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They didn’t FaceTime but Sehun had sent him a bunch of messages yesterday and now he was following it with a bunch of hearts throughout the entire day. Junmyeon hadn’t thought he’d be flustered by rows of pink, sparkly heart emojis, but he was.

 

Maybe it was because he kind of already missed Sehun, kind of already felt a little lonely without him, watching a new series because he wanted to watch something but didn’t feel like continuing The Good Place without Sehun.

 

It was only towards midnight that Sehun sent him a picture of Jongin and Taemin sucking faces. The caption read _disgusting but I kinda wish that was us._

 

Junmyeon bit his lip, tried not to stare at the picture to avoid nightmares and stared at the message instead. Sehun wished they were kissing. Of course Sehun wished that. That was what everyone wished to do with the person they loved. But Junmyeon had never thought about that before.

 

 _I’ll report you for voyeurism,_ he sent back after a long moment of thinking about what he should say.

 

 _You saw the pic so you’re an accomplice now_ , Sehun answered, adding a wink emoji to it.

 

Junmyeon huffed, put his phone down, and thought about kissing Sehun until he fell asleep.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The door twinkled and Junmyeon looked up to it, lips stretching into a smile to welcome Sehun.

 

"I need you to give me something," Sehun greeted him with, stepping to the counter with a serious pull to his eyebrows.

 

Junmyeon furrowed his eyebrows and glanced over his shoulder when the door opened. Kyungsoo greeted Sehun with a silent wave of the hand and disappeared back inside.

 

"What do you need? What’s wrong?" Junmyeon questioned, gaze trailing over Sehun to see any sign of wound or discomfort anywhere on his body.

 

His gaze was pulled to Sehun’s chest when he patted it with a hand.

 

"I need something to heal me because I think my love for you is starting to take over my entire heart, hyung," he complained, pouty lips and concern trying its hardest to reign over his features without cracking.

 

And Junmyeon just stared. At the pretty lips, the pretty eyebrows, the pretty, playful Sehun. Sehun who could do this, say this so easily, who could make Junmyeon flustered so suddenly. Sehun who made Junmyeon feel so nice. Not because he loved Junmyeon. Just because he was Sehun.

 

Junmyeon rested his elbows on the counter, cupped his chin with his hands, stared more, watched as Sehun mimicked him, seriousness gone, smile dazzling. He tilted his head, looking at Junmyeon so beautifully. Not because he was kind of breathtaking himself, but just his gaze. There was something beautiful in the way Junmyeon could feel it lay on himself.

 

"I’m sorry," Junmyeon whispered, a tightening in his breath enclosing his voice. "We don’t have an antidote for that but if we had, I think I would’ve had to use it too. I feel like it’s spreading to me now."

 

Sehun blinked. Junmyeon blinked. Sehun blinked again, hands falling from his face to the counter.

 

"What?" he questioned, tilting his head, baring to Junmyeon’s eyes the lighter patch of skin forming a small scar on his cheek. He kind of wanted to kiss it.

 

Junmyeon looked back into Sehun’s eyes. They had really ever only looked at Junmyeon. Junmyeon couldn’t remember if he had ever looked away from them. Maybe just not long enough to recall it.

 

"The love," he explained, trying to make it sound as casual as Sehun always did. But it never really sounded casual. It always sounded normal, easy, natural, but sincere on Sehun’s lips. Junmyeon hoped it sounded the same on his own too.

 

Maybe it did. Sehun brightened into a beam that shadowed his eyes but made them look even lovelier.

 

"So you do believe me," he hummed, lacing his hands together on the counter, unlacing them, tracing his fingers over his knuckles, never looking away from Junmyeon, speaking again before Junmyeon could gather himself up and say something. "Next level is making you fall in love with me too."

 

He couldn’t help but chortle at that. "Is this some kind of video game?" he questioned, narrowing his eyes. Normal. So normal.

 

Sehun shrugged, using the impetus to lean closer to Junmyeon.

 

"The first step to that though, is a kiss. Can I?" he asked and Junmyeon should pull away, step back, but his lower lip looked so pink and plushy and he couldn’t help but wonder just what other part of Sehun was so alluring without him ever having noticed it. Probably all of him.

 

"But I’m at work," Junmyeon said, prying his gaze away from the textured line cutting right through the center of Sehun’s lower lip.

 

"Can I?" he asked again, same low tone, a higher amount of eagerness in the way these two words merged together as he spoke them out.

 

Junmyeon was in trouble. In huge trouble. He usually had a hard time saying no to Sehun but now, as his gaze flickered between the preciousness of his gaze and the magnetism of his mouth, it was even harder. It would be even harder now. He nodded, a slight movement of the head.

 

He barely even felt the quick press of Sehun’s lips into his, the peck too short for him to taste anything, sense any texture. But the tingle they left on Junmyeon’s mouth, he felt he’d rememberit for the rest of his life.

 

He pressed his lips together, tight, stamping the sensation on his own mouth as he watched Sehun pull away, take a few steps back while grinning at him, swinging his arms forward merrily, and then turn around.

 

"Love me soon, hyung," he called out over his shoulder while opening the door. He took his grin out of the drugstore but the effect of it still hugged Junmyeon’s breath even once Sehun was gone.

 

The press of his lips turned into a smile abashedly parted by a hushed laugh.

 

Perhaps Sehun spent too much time playing video games. He was too good at it. Junmyeon felt like he had already started winning over that level too.

 

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
